Griffin passes Baylor past Buffalo

Published 11:21 pm, Saturday, September 11, 2010

WACO — Robert Griffin passed for a career-high 297 yards, including 230 in the first half, and had a hand in all four Baylor touchdowns to lead the Bears past Buffalo 34-6 Saturday night.

Griffin put the Bears (2-0) in control with a 5-yard scoring run on fourth-and-2 late in the first quarter and two long second-quarter touchdown passes. One was a 61-yarder to Kendall Wright, who has caught a pass in all 26 career games.

Buffalo quarterback Jerry Davis struggled in his second career start while the Bulls (1-1) were falling behind in the first half. He finished 18 of 46 for 163 yards and no touchdowns after throwing for 302 yards and four scores in the opener.

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It was the second game in Texas for Buffalo. The Bulls won at UTEP last year.

Griffin ran for two touchdowns, the latter a 1-yard plunge that put Baylor ahead 34-3 early in the third quarter. Griffin tied the Baylor record for rushing TDs by a quarterback at 18.

The punctuating score helped Griffin rest his reconstructed right knee in the fourth quarter of his second game since coming back from the ligament tear that sidelined him most of last year.

Griffin's final TD could have been the second for Wright, but the receiver fell down while all alone at the 1 after stretching out to catch Griffin's 47-yard pass. He had five catches for 128 yards.

Besides harassing Davis into a rough night, the Bears mostly held the Buffalo running game in check until the game was decided.

First-year Buffalo coach Jeff Quinn passed on a gamble that might have kept his team close in the first half. Trailing 17-3, the Bulls punted on fourth-and-4 from the Baylor 37. The punt went just 10 yards, and five plays later Griffin made it 24-3 with a 43-yard touchdown pass to tight end Willie Jefferson.

Baylor coach Art Briles was making all the right moves on the other sideline. His successful replay challenge wiped out a 23-yard Buffalo completion to the Baylor 20 on third-and-10 late in the first half. When the officials tried to repeat third down, Briles called a timeout and persuaded the officials to check again. They made it fourth down, and Buffalo punted.

The Bulls didn't get a first down until their fourth possession, and promptly fumbled two plays later. Griffin kept the subsequent drive alive with a nifty fumble recovery, completed a pass to get the Bears to the Buffalo 4, then scored the game's first touchdown on a designed run around right end on fourth-and-2 from the 5.

The Bears would like someone other than the multitalented Griffin to be their leading rusher, and Jay Finley obliged against Buffalo. He didn't score but finished with 76 yards on a 5.8-yard average before going to the bench for good in the third quarter.

The only blemish for Griffin was the first nonconference interception of his career, by Domonic Cook after a tipped pass. Griffin had several other tipped passes, and a couple of those were almost intercepted.

Buffalo receiver Terrell Jackson was busy during a rare chance to play just 30 miles from his Temple home. He had six catches for a team-high 60 yards, a reverse that was dropped for a 2-yard loss and an incomplete pass on another reverse.